Ashley, I'm so very sorry for your recent loss of little Drake. I suspect that I'm not far from you... at least for the moment because I'm right here in Little Rock also. Should you ever need to escape, chat, whatever, feel free to just hit the button here and get in touch.

I'm sorry. I wasn't very clear. I was saying that if Texarkana can count as being in Arkansas, then so can West Memphis. I'm in West Memphis. I wish I were closer. I would love to get together. Maybe we can after my baby is born.

Hi, I am new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is ann from batesville, central arkansas. My first son was born at 35 weeks 10/31/04 with severe pe and my second at 36 weeks with mild pe secondary to premature rupture of membranes. we would love to have another baby i do not know any peri's and would like to see one before we try. if you all have any suggestions let me know thanks

Hello everyone! I am in the Little Rock area and had PE last year. I am still learning about what happened to me and my little boy. Recently, a co-worker/friend developed PE and I offered my support to her. In the days that followed, I realized I had many unresolved thoughts and feelings about my experience last year. So, today I went searching online for support and ended up here.

Here are the basics about me and my experience:
I was "slowly" diagnosed. My doc told me that I had beginning signs of PE and explained what that meant and how it could affect me. Looking back, I don't think I took it seriously enough.

At 32 weeks 4 days, I was put on bed rest at home and officially declared to have PE. My symptoms were major swelling, high bp, and protein in my urine (but was still under 300). I was also told to visit the doctor twice each week and also do a 24 hr urine test at home. That lasted 6 days and then I officially flunked home bed rest and was sent directly to the hospital from the doctor's office. My cluelessness about my situation is best summed up in saying that I drove myself to the hospital (sounds like something to do on bed rest, right?). They tested my 24 hour urine I was supposed to turn in at the dr's office...and it came back at 1100 (Wednesday)! That was when I learned my baby would be delivered in a matter of days, not weeks. Scary. They did another 24hr test on Friday and rushed the results on Saturday morning, especially because I had experienced a lot of anxiety and other pains in my body during Friday night. My protein level from Friday came back at over 4300. The on call doctor walked into my room at 7:30am and said we were having a baby, soon! I know my top bp went over 220 and I have no idea where the bottom portion went! I know it was at 100 at one point.

At 11:11 my precious boy was born at 33 weeks, 6 days. He weighed 4 lbs, 11 oz and was 18 inches long. I am blessed and happy to say that he now weighs almost 16 pounds, just turned seven months today, and is over 26 inches long! He was not a textbook preemie because he did not show any signs of distress. The nurses kept telling us that it wasn't normal for him to be doing so well. He was released at 9 days old and went home still almost 4 weeks from his original due date. We did experience another horrible health situation with him, but it was unrelated to my condition or his early arrival. He has a heart condition called WPW. Basically, his heart races out of control without medicine. He will either outgrow this or have corrective surgery by the age of six.

Everything happened so fast and then with his heart condition (he had to be shocked three times and was hospitalized for another week), I just never had the time to process and work through what happened. I suppose that time has come.

My husband and I hope and want to have more babies. We won't let this experience keep us from that. However, the thought of being pregnant again does already scare me. My thoughts range from the simple "what if it happens again" to "will I be considered high risk".

Anyway...I look forward to connecting with other Arkansas moms who have experienced PE and can "relate"....

Hi Marcia...welcome! I am so sorry for all that you have been through with your PE experience and am glad to hear that your little guy is doing well. I hope and pray that his heart condition is something that he grows out of.

I am glad that you found us and I hope that we can offer some support to help you sort through your experience and offer information and support as you plan future pregnancies.

I am not from Arkansas - but we do have some ladies from Arkansas that will be along to say hello. Please feel free to post in any of the other forum areas too. Again, welcome!!

Marcia, I just wanted to say welcome, too! Please come to Ask the Experienced or Trying to Conceive or any of the other boards and ask your questions!! I'm glad you found us but sorry you had to. Welcome!